This invention relates to a field dressable inflatable packer for use in wells and, more particularly, this invention relates to a field dressable inflatable packer having a resilient inflatable sleeve element which contains longitudinally extending stretchable cord members. The resilient sleeve is connected over an inner tubular section of the packer by removable clamps for ease of assembly and disassembly of the packer under field conditions.
As is well known in the art, inflatable packers have many uses in well operations. There have been, of course, many different embodiments of inflatable packers known and used heretofore. An inflatable packer generally includes an inner tubing section and a resilient sleeve element carried by the tubing section for sealing engagement with a well wall, casing or liner. The resilient sleeve and the tubing section cooperate to form an annular chamber and the resilient sleeve is expanded by injecting fluid into this chamber. When so expanded, the sleeve can engage a well wall. When it is desired to remove the packer from a well, the sleeve is deflated and the packer may be pulled from the well. Repeated expansion and deflation can cause wear on a resilient sleeve. Wear is also caused by abrasion of the sleeve against the well wall. There is, therefore, need for a resilient sleeve which can withstand a number of inflation-deflation cycles and the abrasion which occurs when a packer is run into and out of a well. Further, there is need for an inflatable packer which may be "dressed" (i.e., the resilient sleeve being shorted or replaced) in the field.